Jonny enjoys going to school. He manages many transitions well in his specialized classroom, although this depends on his emotional state at the time. He sits and attends to stories but has difficulty with participation at circle time. Motor tasks are difficult for Jonny, and he often shuts down or whimpers and cries and refuses to participate. He had difficulty when there is a change in routine that he is not previously aware of it. Social stories have been helpful with Jonny in changing behaviors if used consistently.
At Jonny's daycare setting, he has more difficulty transitioning. They report whining, crying and a lack of focus and attention. A therapeutic support specialist had been going to daycare with him, although daycare staff felt that this hindered his learning and there was an increase in behaviors (not defined by his daycare). Jonny usually attends both programs every day, and each of these program are run very differently with different expectations and supports. Jonny is supported by special education staff on a consultative basis at his daycare. Jonny’s special education program recommended considering the use of therapeutic support staff again to help him in understanding and managing the transition between programs for him to better succeed in both settings.
In the area of communication, Jonny can follow 1 and 2 step directions best when his attention is gained prior to giving the direction. He has had difficulty in understanding questions, and some improvement has been noted. He still has some difficulty in answering questions when visuals are not present.
Jonny uses verbalizations as his mode of communication, although he does resort to behaviors as listed above when conventional communication methods are not successful for him. Jonny can uses sentences to ask for items, protest, greet and to comment, prompting is needed at times. Some scripted language is noted during favorite play activities, such as during dress-up. The content of his language notes reduced vocabulary or word retrieval and syntax (grammatical errors) are prevalent. Jonny does not connect thoughts by using connected sentences. He can turn take with facilitation and prompts to 2 turns. Jonny has difficulty in directing his message to a listener, which is a significant factor leading to him using the behaviors of crying and whining. Even in his specialized classroom of about 8 children and 3 staff, Jonny will verbalize why he is upset, but will not be around an adult to hear him. By that time an adult realizes it, he has already begun to use the behaviors noted. His reduced attention and focus causes him to move around the room and verbalize wherever he is. Jonny does best when an adult is at his side. The adult uses proximity prompts and directs directions or explanations to him, as following these cues within a group are difficult. Jonny’s articulation has notable errors, although when he directs his speech they do not impact intelligibility. He uses a widely varying pitch, easiest described as ‘sing-song quality” when responding. His volume ranges from adequate to low, which impacts his communication when speech is not directed. Jonny will verbalize to peers in his classroom , but often does not wait for a response from them. He does respond to directions or comments from them at times.
At Jonny's daycare setting, he has more difficulty transitioning. They report whining, crying and a lack of focus and attention. A therapeutic support specialist had been going to daycare with him, although daycare staff felt that this hindered his learning and there was an increase in behaviors (not defined by his daycare). Jonny usually attends both programs every day, and each of these program are run very differently with different expectations and supports. Jonny is supported by special education staff on a consultative basis at his daycare. Jonny’s special education program recommended considering the use of therapeutic support staff again to help him in understanding and managing the transition between programs for him to better succeed in both settings.
In the area of communication, Jonny can follow 1 and 2 step directions best when his attention is gained prior to giving the direction. He has had difficulty in understanding questions, and some improvement has been noted. He still has some difficulty in answering questions when visuals are not present.
Jonny uses verbalizations as his mode of communication, although he does resort to behaviors as listed above when conventional communication methods are not successful for him. Jonny can uses sentences to ask for items, protest, greet and to comment, prompting is needed at times. Some scripted language is noted during favorite play activities, such as during dress-up. The content of his language notes reduced vocabulary or word retrieval and syntax (grammatical errors) are prevalent. Jonny does not connect thoughts by using connected sentences. He can turn take with facilitation and prompts to 2 turns. Jonny has difficulty in directing his message to a listener, which is a significant factor leading to him using the behaviors of crying and whining. Even in his specialized classroom of about 8 children and 3 staff, Jonny will verbalize why he is upset, but will not be around an adult to hear him. By that time an adult realizes it, he has already begun to use the behaviors noted. His reduced attention and focus causes him to move around the room and verbalize wherever he is. Jonny does best when an adult is at his side. The adult uses proximity prompts and directs directions or explanations to him, as following these cues within a group are difficult. Jonny’s articulation has notable errors, although when he directs his speech they do not impact intelligibility. He uses a widely varying pitch, easiest described as ‘sing-song quality” when responding. His volume ranges from adequate to low, which impacts his communication when speech is not directed. Jonny will verbalize to peers in his classroom , but often does not wait for a response from them. He does respond to directions or comments from them at times.
Linder, Toni. Transdiscilplinary Play-Based Assesment 2. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing, 2008.
Jonny sounds like a great kid with a lot going on! It must be hard being in the day care for that long of the day (initial post), with multiple transitions, etc. He, in some ways reminds me of my Charlie. I was curious, in the first post, you mentioned he had educational and OT consults to his daycare; in this post, the therapeutic support in day care had been discontinued (at the request of day care staff), but was that the OT then that does not consult? That seems unfortunate (regardless of who was the therapuetic supporter)....looking forward to more. - joan
ReplyDeleteThat paints a solid picture of Jonny and his communication style. It is interesting talking in this class as well as the reading to truly start to understand what these children are trying to tell us.
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